On Friday I instructed my clients to kill their purchase deal.
I had shown them upwards of forty condos, and we finally found a really great unit that the father, mother and son agreed upon. (Mother wanted a low price; Father wanted newer construction; son wanted location; I had to work within a 5-6 block radius to try to find them something). The son is beginning medical school here in St Louis in August, and his parents are purchasing him his own place rather than renting for a number of years.
We arrived at a great price! The sellers were obviously motivated. Closing scheduled for end of July. Really nice commission check, too...
I received the financial information on the condo complex on Friday morning. The finances of the complex are in a shambles. The developer still owns almost half the units, rents them out, but hasn't paid the association dues for the units they own for two years. Cash reserves were only a couple thousand dollars for a 100+ unit complex.
My clients weren't happy, didn't understand why I was so adamant that they walk from the deal (they thought they were getting a great deal on a condo), but I just could not let them go forward. What happens if/when the developer goes bankrupt - anyone owning a unit in the complex will lose half the value of their units. I cannot let that happen to them.
They are probably going to rent now. There's not enough time to get something closed by the time the son begins school.
So, no commission check (and I could have used it!), but I know I did the right thing by them. We have to put the interests of our clients before our own.
Comments(7)